Vivendi confirms talks with Orange to buy Dailymotion stake

Vivendi confirms talks with Orange to buy Dailymotion stake

DetailsJoseph O'Halloran | 08 April 2015

French telco Orange has confirmed it is in exclusive negotiations with Vivendi regarding the acquisition by the latter of an 80% stake in the Dailymotion online video service in a deal worth €217 million.

dailymotionAs part of this operation, which corresponds to an enterprise value for Dailymotion of €265 million, Orange will retain a 20% stake in the company. The two firms will now enter into a period of exclusive negotiations in order to finalise the terms of this operation.

Commenting on the talks, Orange chairman and CEO Stéphane Richard said: "Orange has supported the development of Dailymotion since 2011 as the company has increased its audience by 2.5 and grown into one of Europe's biggest success stories in the digital domain. Our partnership with Vivendi will enable Dailymotion, in which we remain a 20% shareholder, to accelerate its growth internationally and to enhance its content offer. The proceeds from this transaction will enable Orange to reinforce its efforts in the digital ecosystem. Finally, this agreement also illustrates our willingness to reinforce our partnership with Vivendi."

For Vivendi, the acquisition of the equity capital represents another step in its effort to create a global group and be French champion in the media and content industries. With a controlling stake in a global distribution platform, Vivendi now expects to derive significant value from its content holdings and sees numerous opportunities for collaboration between the online video rival to YouTube and its other assets such as Universal Music Group and Groupe Canal+.

"The acquisition of 80% of Dailymotion's capital is an excellent opportunity that will provide the group with added reach in the diffusion of high quality musical and audiovisual content across the world," explained chairman of Vivendi's supervisory board Vincent Bolloré. "We are particularly enthusiastic at the idea of supporting Dailymotion in this important new phase of [its] development as the company evolves into a reference global platform. This is a first step in our ambition to create a large, global group that is focused on media and content."